The EU has lost its patience with Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán. So, now what?

Halfway through its six-month rotating presidency, rather than playing the honest broker, Budapest has blocked many files, including the ones on aid to Ukraine.

It further blocked a statement denouncing Moscow’s media ban, and it voted against the EU’s plan to impose tariffs on electric vehicles. It’s unclear what exactly broke the camel’s back, but one thing is certain: the EU has lost its patience with Hungary.

Yet on Tuesday, at a press conference ahead of this speech in Parliament, Orbán played the now-traditional martyr card at a press conference before his big speech in front of all MEPs, arguing that he’s not the problem — it is Brussels that needs to change its strategy on Ukraine, migration and competitiveness.

So, what can the EU do now with Hungary? We ask Daniel Hegedüs, the German Marshall Fund’s regional director for Central Europe.